The 2021 Backlog Challenge

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

Epic Mickey 2 is done! I bought this game at launch and now have finally completed it... 

 

brief review: Not anywhere near as the good but not without its charm. Fun levels, Oswald was annoying as can be and a lot of the “special powers” seemed wasted. I won’t be revisiting for other endings as I did with the first. End boss was a joke, 5/10

[Webhead123 | 675]

On 2/4/2021 at 5:25 PM, ZeldaFreak said:

All of the above and more.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like there's still like 10 more hours of content, but no, for all intents and purposes, I would personally consider the game not fully beaten, and it's certainly not just little piddly stuff.

This is why I find Backloggery's distinction of "Beaten" vs. "Completed" useful. Or GameFAQs' "Beaten" vs. "Conquered". I consider a game "beaten" if I've reached an ending screen, whether or not I've experienced the game's entire content. I consider a game "Completed/Conquered" once I've done all that there is to do.

[Sumez | 2,950]

Finished Legend of the Mystical Ninja.

I know I shouldn't be surprised considering how many people love this game, but it's a lot better than I'd expected from the little I've spent time with it previously. Too bad it has some really awkward moments with bad konami hitboxes and such. It's close to being brilliant.

Considering how succesful it was, it's weird they never bothered officially localizing the three other SNES games in the series. I played a bit of the second game after finishing this, since I had that and #4 lying around already, and it has a lot more focus on the platforming stages, however it also has this first person robot boxing mode that plays horribly, and I wasn't able to get past even the first instance of that. Maybe that's why they didn't bring it over? 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

12 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

This is why I find Backloggery's distinction of "Beaten" vs. "Completed" useful. Or GameFAQs' "Beaten" vs. "Conquered". I consider a game "beaten" if I've reached an ending screen, whether or not I've experienced the game's entire content. I consider a game "Completed/Conquered" once I've done all that there is to do.

Yeah, that can definitely be useful for games with multiple endings and whatnot, it's just kind of a tricky situation with Undertale since the story keeps progressing further than it does with the initial ending.

Edited February 6, 2021 by ZeldaFreak

[Brickman | 3,983]

Darkest Dungeon complete (base game, will revisit DLC dungeons in the future). Definitely up there as one of the more difficult modern games.

Had an absolutely blast and loved every minute of it though, even moments where I wanted to break down and cry or rage quit. I just couldn’t put this game down.

Recommend it to anyone who loves dungeon crawlers, roguelikes or very challenging games. 9.5/10. Only lost half a point because the end game is a bit grindy.

[Webhead123 | 675]

4 hours ago, Shmup said:

Darkest Dungeon complete (base game, will revisit DLC dungeons in the future). Definitely up there as one of the more difficult modern games.

Had an absolutely blast and loved every minute of it though, even moments where I wanted to break down and cry or rage quit. I just couldn’t put this game down.

Recommend it to anyone who loves dungeon crawlers, roguelikes or very challenging games. 9.5/10. Only lost half a point because the end game is a bit grindy.

It's an incredibly charming and addictive game, despite being designed as something of an exercise in masochism. Before the game ripped out my heart, threw it on the floor and stomped it flat, I put quite a few hours into it. I may go back at some point with dreams of vengeance (that will likely never be fulfilled).

[Reed Rothchild | 9,522]

6 hours ago, Shmup said:

Darkest Dungeon complete (base game, will revisit DLC dungeons in the future). Definitely up there as one of the more difficult modern games.

Had an absolutely blast and loved every minute of it though, even moments where I wanted to break down and cry or rage quit. I just couldn’t put this game down.

Recommend it to anyone who loves dungeon crawlers, roguelikes or very challenging games. 9.5/10. Only lost half a point because the end game is a bit grindy.

Awesome.  One of my favorite games of all time, and an extremely satisfying completion.

[Brickman | 3,983]

7 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

It's an incredibly charming and addictive game, despite being designed as something of an exercise in masochism. Before the game ripped out my heart, threw it on the floor and stomped it flat, I put quite a few hours into it. I may go back at some point with dreams of vengeance (that will likely never be fulfilled).

Definitely revisit the game if you get a chance. If you're struggling on some sections I recommend looking up some good team matchups vs certain bosses. I took that approach on some of them after having a few team wipes in a Championship dungeons.

 

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Awesome.  One of my favorite games of all time, and an extremely satisfying completion.

Definitely agree, this one has shot up to one of favourite games. I was excited to see they've announced Darkest Dungeon 2.

 

[Sumez | 2,950]

Played through Yoku's Island Express a few days ago. Had this lying around for a while, but had a hard time sitting down to play it.

Once I did though, it was super hard to stop playing. It's one of those metroidvanias where exploration is just super satisfying, because no matter where you go you keep finding new things that give the world more flavor, and even though the game has a couple (and only a couple!) of unlockable skills that will allow you to pass certain obstacles, you are never blocked in your progress no matter where you try to go, making the game very open ended.

It also has probably the most satisfying "quick travel" system I've seen in a game of this type. Rather than teleporting to a central hub, you go through a "DKC barrel canon"-like shortcut system which also opens up access to quite a few hidden items by intentionally dropping off along the way.

I wish the pinball physics of the game had been a little bit more convincing. I can understand that you need them to be unrealistically predictable in order to function well for a game of this type, but some of the ways it deviated from actual pinball physics kept throwing me off. The trajectory of the ball based on its movements is occasionally completely illogical, and it would never bounce over from one flipper to the opposing one, which is bound to throw off any experienced pinball player.

There's also a resounding lack of challenge in anything the game asks you to do, but overall the game is just so charming and chill that you can't fault it for anything.

Edited February 10, 2021 by Sumez

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

8 hours ago, Sumez said:

Played through Yoku's Island Express a few days ago. Had this lying around for a while, but had a hard time sitting down to play it.

Once I did though, it was super hard to stop playing. It's one of those metroidvanias where exploration is just super satisfying, because no matter where you go you keep finding new things that give the world more flavor, and even though the game has a couple (and only a couple!) of unlockable skills that will allow you to pass certain obstacles, you are never blocked in your progress no matter where you try to go, making the game very open ended.

It also has probably the most satisfying "quick travel" system I've seen in a game of this type. Rather than teleporting to a central hub, you go through a "DKC barrel canon"-like shortcut system which also opens up access to quite a few hidden items by intentionally dropping off along the way.

I wish the pinball physics of the game had been a little bit more convincing. I can understand that you need them to be unrealistically predictable in order to function well for a game of this type, but some of the ways it deviated from actual pinball physics kept throwing me off. The trajectory of the ball based on its movements is occasionally completely illogical, and it would never bounce over from one flipper to the opposing one, which is bound to throw off any experienced pinball player.

There's also a resounding lack of challenge in anything the game asks you to do, but overall the game is just so charming and chill that you can't fault it for anything.

I've heard nothing but good things about this game. For a smallish title, it's done a great job of hanging around and remaining relevant for several years.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

1. Castlevania: Bloodlines. - COMPLETED (w/ John Morris) - Beat it yesterday (Feb 9) for the first time on 'normal'. Beat it later in the night on 'Expert'. I will eventually go back and beat it with Eric or no death it. Verdict: It's a pretty good game with some neat level ideas and some very nice graphics in spots. It plays well and has a few interesting mechanics (very interesting 'sliced screen' in the last level) but the levels are long and the bosses are forgettable and generally quite easy. A side note that the game has some pretty glaring graphical issues in the collection version in HD. Overall it's a solid 7/10.

2. Contra: Hard Corps - COMPLETED. I eventually slugged my way through the game but it didn't really do much for me. It was tough the first few times going through but once I learned the boss patterns it wasn't too bad. Similar to Bloodlines, I never played this growing up so I don't have that attachment to it like others in the franchise. I like Bloodlines more than this w.r.t their counterparts.

3. Doom 64 - COMPLETED - Fun game. Fast paced with some decent level design. Slugged through the middle portion of the game but was able to kill the last boss fairly easy by cheesing cover behind a switch. Secret levels not completed. 

4. Jurassic Park (SNES) - Not Completed - I have completed this game with my brother in the mid 90s, but would really like to fully complete the game with all eggs and areas explored. I don't know why I have a hankering to play this game but I feel the need to fully complete it. I remember essentially nothing about this game anymore.

5. Mega Man 11 (Switch) - Beat the game on 'normal' in under 60 min achievement. Adding this as it's the only achievement I have left to complete in the game after not playing for a while. Gonna take some time to get back in to it.

 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Andy_Bogomil

[Richardhead | 2,813]

On 2/9/2021 at 10:49 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

Awesome.  One of my favorite games of all time, and an extremely satisfying completion.

I'm about to DL this game onto my Switch. Hope this raving review doesn't disappoint.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,522]

36 minutes ago, Richardhead said:

I'm about to DL this game onto my Switch. Hope this raving review doesn't disappoint.

Well, this will end in tears either way.

[Webhead123 | 675]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Well, this will end in tears either way.

Facts. Tears or joy or tears of rage (or maybe even a little of both), you're gonna be crying before it's all over.

[Webhead123 | 675]

4 hours ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

3. Doom 64 - Not Completed - Again, I have played the first level or two many times and maybe got a bit further back in the day but would finally like to work my way through this entire game. I've recently gone through Doom and Doom II several times so looking forward getting in to this.

4. Jurassic Park (SNES) - Not Completed - I have completed this game with my brother in the mid 90s, but would really like to fully complete the game with all eggs and areas explored. I don't know why I have a hankering to play this game but I feel the need to fully complete it. I remember essentially nothing about this game anymore.

Doom 64 is an under-sung game, I feel. The biggest issue with the original N64 release is the controls. I mean, you can get used to them but they're certainly far from ideal. If you can, I highly recommend playing a version of it on PC, or at least on a more modern console with the benefit of dual analog controls. Just a simple change to the control scheme turns it from a good but janky game into a terrific one.

Jurassic Park (SNES) was one of those games I owned growing up and I think rather highly of it as a result. It's unfortunate that, for such a long game, it doesn't have any way to save your progress but if you can spare the time to get through it (about 3-4 hours as I recall), or if you have the benefit of save-states, etc., it is a game very much worth finishing.

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

4 hours ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

4. Jurassic Park (SNES) - Not Completed - I have completed this game with my brother in the mid 90s, but would really like to fully complete the game with all eggs and areas explored. I don't know why I have a hankering to play this game but I feel the need to fully complete it. I remember essentially nothing about this game anymore.

I'll leave it there for now.

 

JP for SNES can't be completed without finding all eggs.  That was the only thing I missed as a kid.  I have all objectives completed, but when I got to the helipad, it said I still had one egg remaining.  I never did find that egg, so I never got to see the "ending."  

Still a great game and the best JP of that era.  

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

Well, it wasn't on my list but I finished Shovel Knight anyway.  First time completing the game.  I managed to find all items, upgrades and music sheets.  Not sure if I will bother with new game plus or not, but definitely not right away.  I finished about 75% of the feats, but most of the remaining feats will be impossible for me, so I have no desire to go after those.  Great game and it's a shame I waited this long to finally play through it.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,522]

1 hour ago, TDIRunner said:

Well, it wasn't on my list but I finished Shovel Knight anyway.  First time completing the game.  I managed to find all items, upgrades and music sheets.  Not sure if I will bother with new game plus or not, but definitely not right away.  I finished about 75% of the feats, but most of the remaining feats will be impossible for me, so I have no desire to go after those.  Great game and it's a shame I waited this long to finally play through it.  

Now you get to play Plague, Specter, and King

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Now you get to play Plague, Specter, and King

I started Plague and King for a level each, but I feel like if I keep going I will get burned out.  Maybe I will come back to them at a later time.  My first impression with each was that it was fun, but neither character felt as fun as Shovel Knight.  

[O.G. CIB | 415]

Went against the list and decided to play The Last of Us: Part II since I just finished the first one. I wanted to keep everything fresh for a story and gameplay perspective but what a taxing game... is soooooo long. There are some points in the game that move far too slow for my taste. I got to a point in the middle of the game I just wanted to play to get it over with but it started picking up again. 

The overall story was great (a slight step below the 1st one) and is definitely a must play. I had my share of AAA games for awhile and headed back to retro. 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Mr. CIB

[Jicsan | 589]

Took the first game off my list today!  Finished Marvel's Spider-man on the PS5.  The story was great and I was teared up at the ending.  I'm going to chase the Platinum and do the DLC further down the road, but the base game is done.  It was super long compared to Miles Morales.  Yeah, I played them backwards.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Beat Contra: Hardcorp today. It kicked my ass the first few times before I finally got most of the bosses down and got through it. 

While I liked the game, the controls were a game breaker for me. Couldn't stand the toggle for changing fire mode and weapon. It's really awkward. 

Some pretty cool bosses and I really liked the last boss. 

As much as I love contra I don't really see myself going back to this game much. Maybe because I never played it growing up but it's my least favourite of the vintage contra games. 

[Webhead123 | 675]

5 hours ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

Beat Contra: Hardcorp today. It kicked my ass the first few times before I finally got most of the bosses down and got through it. 

While I liked the game, the controls were a game breaker for me. Couldn't stand the toggle for changing fire mode and weapon. It's really awkward. 

Some pretty cool bosses and I really liked the last boss. 

As much as I love contra I don't really see myself going back to this game much. Maybe because I never played it growing up but it's my least favourite of the vintage contra games. 

I'm in the same boat. It wasn't a game I grew up with but it is Contra, so it had my attention upon learning of it. I've not sat down to beat it yet but I have spent a fair bit of time fooling around with the first few stages. It's good and I'm blown away that Sega got a Contra game but it definitely isn't preferable to the NES or SNES entries. Actually, I think I liked Contra: ReBirth better than Hard Corps. And I have yet to play Contra 4. I really need to get ahold of that one.

[Webhead123 | 675]

Well, I did the bare minimum necessary to get Into the Breach crossed of my list. I hate to say it but I was rather disappointed by it. By all accounts, it should be a game that really won me over and got dozens of hours out of me. I enjoy turn-based tactics/strategy games, especially those with an RPG-like level-up system. I have hundreds of hours in stuff like X-COM (both the old and new series), Darkest Dungeon, Invisible Inc., etc.

But it turns out that Into the Breach just didn't captivate me like I was hoping it would. Really, I think it comes down to two major issues:

1) That there are really no "crafted" levels at all. It's all driven by RNG. This means that you might get one battle that is ridiculously easy because of the way terrain and enemy spawns play out...and then the next battle proves to be moronically impossible to mitigate losses because of the same.

2) The rogue-lite RPG elements feel too empty. That is, all the upgrades and such that you're gradually putting into your mechs...you keep NONE of it when you have to reset the timeline. You get to keep ONE pilot and that's it. No weapons. No reactor cores. No XP. You get one guy with one skill. And because individual runs can wrap up before you've really accumulated that much as-is, you just end up playing the same stock mechs with the same stock weapons over and over and over again. I guess I know why they do this. 'Cause the game is super short when it comes down to it. And maybe it's my problem for wanting something different than what the game delivers but yeah...I wanted more of a sense of progression.

The game is going for "wide not deep" in design, I guess and that's just not what keeps me coming back to a strategy game of this type.

So yeah, I was not terribly impressed with my time with it. The core game play (less the frustration of the swingy-ness of the RNG) is actually great. I just wish they had taken that core game idea, crafted an lengthy, detailed campaign of missions and let the player have some fun upgrading mechs and experimenting with custom load-outs.

Objectively, it probably deserves at least a 7/10 but I gotta be honest, I'm probably going to uninstall it and not look back.

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

11 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

Well, I did the bare minimum necessary to get Into the Breach crossed of my list. I hate to say it but I was rather disappointed by it. By all accounts, it should be a game that really won me over and got dozens of hours out of me. I enjoy turn-based tactics/strategy games, especially those with an RPG-like level-up system. I have hundreds of hours in stuff like X-COM (both the old and new series), Darkest Dungeon, Invisible Inc., etc.

But it turns out that Into the Breach just didn't captivate me like I was hoping it would. Really, I think it comes down to two major issues:

1) That there are really no "crafted" levels at all. It's all driven by RNG. This means that you might get one battle that is ridiculously easy because of the way terrain and enemy spawns play out...and then the next battle proves to be moronically impossible to mitigate losses because of the same.

2) The rogue-lite RPG elements feel too empty. That is, all the upgrades and such that you're gradually putting into your mechs...you keep NONE of it when you have to reset the timeline. You get to keep ONE pilot and that's it. No weapons. No reactor cores. No XP. You get one guy with one skill. And because individual runs can wrap up before you've really accumulated that much as-is, you just end up playing the same stock mechs with the same stock weapons over and over and over again. I guess I know why they do this. 'Cause the game is super short when it comes down to it. And maybe it's my problem for wanting something different than what the game delivers but yeah...I wanted more of a sense of progression.

The game is going for "wide not deep" in design, I guess and that's just not what keeps me coming back to a strategy game of this type.

So yeah, I was not terribly impressed with my time with it. The core game play (less the frustration of the swingy-ness of the RNG) is actually great. I just wish they had taken that core game idea, crafted an lengthy, detailed campaign of missions and let the player have some fun upgrading mechs and experimenting with custom load-outs.

Objectively, it probably deserves at least a 7/10 but I gotta be honest, I'm probably going to uninstall it and not look back.

I did eventually get bored of Into the Breach, but it took me much longer to get to that point then you did. Your criticisms are mostly fair. Although, I'll say for number 2 the real upgrades are unlocking new mechs. But the reason why I enjoyed it at times more than other Tactics games is the gameplay is more like a puzzle, where you have perfect info and just need to figure out the solution. If I spent long enough, I almost always was able to find a way out, which felt great when I finally did.